Theater of the Oppressed
Theater of the Oppressed/Erasmus project thumb|right|335 px|A short video demonstrating the process of creating and presenting a Theatre of the Oppressed/Forum Theatre play. From "It Could Happen to You" by the Jan Hus Homeless Theatre Troupe, facilitated by Katy Rubin. [[Dosya:Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu.jpg|200px|right|thumb|'Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu']] Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu, Paulo Freire’nin Ezilenlerin Pedagojisi kuramından yola çıkarak Augusto Boal’in oluşturduğu bir tiyatro kuramıdır. Augusto Boal, “Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu” kitabının “Aristotales’in Baskıcı Tragedya Sistemi” başlığı altında Aristotelyen katharsis tiyatrosunu analiz eder. Seyircinin düşünme ve eylemde bulunma etkinliğini sahne üstündeki oyuncuya devreden edilgen bir rol üstlenmesi Boal’in karşı durduğu ana unsurdur. Aristotelyen katharsis tiyatrosunda tiyatral üretim araçlarını elinde bulunduranın yazar, yönetmen, oyuncu ve tiyatro etkinliğini düzenleyen şahıslardır; seyirciye yüklenen işlev ise kendisine gösterilenler üzerine fikir yürütmesidir. Freire’nin “Ezilenlerin Pedagojisi”nde ileri sürdüğü ezen-ezilen ve öğreten-öğrenen karşıtlığı, Boal’e göre, Aristotelyen katharsis tiyatrosunun oyuncu-seyirci karşıtlığına tekabül eder. Bu açılımı baskı kurmaya yönelik bir model olarak ele alan Boal, eylemde bulunma iradesinin seyirciye devredilebileceği bir alternatif model önerir. Seyirci ve oyuncu ayrımının ortadan kalktığı bu yeni tiyatro anlayışında yeni bir terim ortaya çıkar: seyirci-oyuncu spect-actor. Ezilenlerin Pedagojisi'de Freire; bir problemin tanımlanması, diyalog aracılığıyla yorumlanması ve olası çözümler denenmesini önerir. Bu süreçte öğreten-öğrenen karşıtlığının kırılması için eğitmenin, çözümü önceden bilen ve tüm tartışmayı da oraya yönlendiren biri konumunda olmaması gerekir. Boal de benzer şekilde, tiyatro çalışmalarında seyircileri seyirci-oyuncu olmaya kışkırtan, yanıtlar bulmalarını ve yanıtları sahne üstünde eylem halinde göstermelerini teşvik eden, koordinatör işlevi gören bir "joker"den bahseder. Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu'nda Farklı Tiyatro Pratikleri Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu'nun yöntemde farklılaşan uygulamalarında ortak olan özellikler şunlardır: 1. Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu'nun bütün uygulamalarında, dramatik eylemin katılımcılar açısından yakıcı bir öneme sahip somut bir sorunu içermesi esastır. Bu sorun, katılımcıların yaptığı tartışmalar sonucu ortaya çıkmış ve katılımcıları düşünme ve eyleme kışkırtacak ölçüde güçlü olmalıdır. 2. Joker, çalışmanın başkanı ya da yöneticisi değildir. Jokerin görevi biraz daha fazla bilenleri bunu anlatmaları ve deneyimlemeleri için teşvik etmek, biraz cesaret edenleri biraz daha cesaretlendirerek ne yapabileceklerini göstermelerini sağlamaktır. Seyirci-oyuncuları kendisinin önceden hazırladığı çözüme yöneltmez, onların kendi çözümlerini sahne üstünde deneyimleyerek bulmalarını sağlamaya çalışır. Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosunda üç çalışma yönteminden bahsedilebilir: Forum Tiyatrosu, İmge Tiyatrosu ve Görünmez Tiyatro. Forum Tiyatrosu Forum Tiyatrosu, seyirci-oyuncular tarafından belirlenen bir problemin çözümlerinin araştırılarak sahne üzerinde deneyimlenmesine dayalı bir Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu pratiğidir. Bir atölye formunda gerçekleştirilen Forum Tiyatrosu'nda, öncelikle belirlenen probleme uygulanabilecek çözümler tartışılır. Sonra bu çözümler, seyirci-oyuncular tarafından sahne üstünde deneyimlenir. Sahnede gösterilen çözüm, bütün katılımcılar tarafından tartışılarak çürütülür veya benimsenir. Görünmez Tiyatro Görünmez Tiyatro, genellikle kamusal alanda gerçekleştirilen, oyuncuların belirlenen bir konu üzerine bir fikir sunarak seyirci-oyuncuları da oyuna katılmaya kışkırttığı bir Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu pratiğidir. Seyirci-oyuncular, bir tiyatro eyleminin içinde olduklarını fark etmeksizin oyuna dahil edilir ve belirlenmiş konu üzerine düşünmeye ve eylemeye teşvik edilirler. Forum Tiyatrosu'ndan farklı olarak Görünmez Tiyatro, seyirci-oyuncuların müdaheleleri ile değişen koşullara uygun dinamik bir metin gerektirir. Ayrıca oyuncular, seyirci-oyuncuları inandırmak ve kurgusal kökeninden habersiz oldukları bir oyuna çekebilmek için rollerini yaşayarak oynamalıdırlar. Bu tiyatro günümüz tiyatrosunda sokaktaki halkı interaktif olarak tiyatronun içine sokmaktadır. Türkiye'de ilk defa bu tiyatroyu denemeye başlayan İzmir'de Euterpe Sanat Topluluğu olmuştur. İmge Tiyatrosu İmge Tiyatrosu, seyirci-oyuncuların bir konu üzerine kafalarındaki imgeleri sergiledikleri bir Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu pratiğidir. İmge Tiyatrosu'nda öncelikle seyirci-oyunculardan belirlenmiş tema üzerine bir imge göstermeleri istenir. Diğer seyirci-oyuncular, bu imgeyi onaylamazsa ikinci bir imge gösterebilir. Bu şekilde, bütün katılımcıların ortaklaştığı bir imge elde edilene kadar çalışmaya devam edilir. Elde edilen bu imge, baskının bir temsiliyeti olan gerçek imge''dir. Sonra seyirci-oyunculardan bu baskının yok olduğu bir ''ideal imge yaratmaları istenir. Bu noktada tekrar gerçek imge''ye dönülür. Katılımcılardan ''gerçek imge''den ''ideal imge''ye geçiş aşamasını gösteren bir ''olası geçişin imgesi''ni yaratmaları beklenir. İmge Tiyatrosu'nda her seyirci-oyuncu, bir rolü oynuyormuş gibi davranmalı, kendi kişisel karakter özelliklerini asla sergilememelidir. Kaynakça * Boal, Augusto, ''Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu, çev. Necdet Hasgüş, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Yayınevi, 2003, İstanbul * Boal, Augusto, Oyuncular ve Oyuncu Olmayanlar İçin Oyunlar, çev. Berk Ataman, Özgürol Öztürk, Kerem Rızvanoğlu, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Yayınevi, 2003, İstanbul * Karaboğa, Kerem, "Ezilenlerin Pedagojisi'nden Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu'na", İstanbul Alternatif Tiyatrolar Platformu Yıllık Bülteni 2003-2004, İstanbul Dış bağlantılar * Augusto Boal'in Ardından: "Mutlu Olmak İçin Cesaretli Olun!" * Ezilenlerin Tiyatrosu ve Güney Amerika'daki Etkisi * Augusto Boal'in Ardından The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) describes theatrical forms that the Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal first elaborated in the 1960s, initially in Brazil and later in Europe. Boal was influenced by the work of the educator and theorist Paulo Freire. Boal's techniques use theatre as means of promoting social and political change. In the Theatre of the Oppressed, the audience becomes active, such that as "spect-actors" they explore, show, analyse and transform the reality in which they are living. , May 13, 2008.]] History The Theatre of the Oppressed, a term coined by Augusto Boal, is a series of theatrical analyses and critiques developed in the 1950s. Boal is an avid supporter of utilizing interactive techniques, especially in the context of theatre. Many of his ideas are considered as "a new media perspective", despite the relatively early birth of these ideas. Since then, these ideas have been developed more, giving them meaning in a modern-day context. The creation of the Theatre of the Oppressed is largely based on the idea of dialogue and interaction between audience and performer. Moreover, these ideas have served as a framework for the development and evolution of stronger ideas. Terminology Joker/Facilitator/Difficultator Much of Augusto Boal's theatrical process requires a neutral party to be at the centre of proceedings. This individual is usually called the "facilitator". In Boal's literature this role is referred to as the "joker", in reference to the neutrality of the Joker card in a deck of playing cards. In most cases, but not all, this would be a drama workshop leader. This person takes responsibility for the logistics of the process and ensures a fair proceeding, but must never comment upon or intervene in the content of the performance, as that is the province of the "spect-actors". Spect-actor This is a term created by Augusto Boal to describe those engaged in Forum theatre. It refers to the dual role of those involved in the process as both spectator and actor, as they both observe and create dramatic meaning and action in any performance. Equally, the term "spect-actor" can be attributed to the participants in invisible theatre (who are unaware that they are part of a theatrical production, but nevertheless contribute to the discussion) and image theatre (who, upon viewing the image created, may alter it to reflect their own ideas). Boal emphasizes the critical need to prevent the isolation of the audience. The term "spectator" brands the participants as less than human; hence, is necessary to humanize them, to restore to them their capacity for action in all its fullness. They must also be a subject, an actor on equal plane with those accepted as actors, who in turn must also be spectators. This will eliminate any notions of the ruling class and the theatre solely portraying their ideals while the audience being the passive victims of those images. This way the spectators no longer delegates power to the characters either to think or act in their place. They free themselves; they think and act for themselves. Boal supports the idea that theatre is not revolutionary in itself but is rehearsal of revolution. (Wardrip-Fruin, 352)Wardrip-Fruin, Noah, and Nick Montfort. "From Theatre of the Oppressed." The NewMediaReader. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 2003. ISBN 0-262-23227-8, p. 339-52. Print. Major branches of Theatre of the Oppressed During the development of Theatre of the Oppressed, Boal worked with many populations and tried many techniques. These techniques eventually coalesced into different theatrical styles, each using a different process to achieve a different result. Boal often organized these theatrical systems as a tree, with images, sounds and words as the roots, games, Image Theatre and Forum Theatre ascending up the trunk, and then other techniques represented as limbs stemming from these. As more T.O. systems evolved, Boal and others have made slight modifications to which techniques appear on various limbs, but the Tree of Theatre of the Oppressed has mostly remained consistent: Image theatre Image theatre is a performance technique in which one person, acting as a sculptor, moulds one or more people acting as statues, using only touch and resisting the use of words or mirror-image modelling. Boal claims this form of theatre to be one of the most stimulating because of its ease of enactment and its remarkable capacity of portraying thought in a concrete form due to the absence of language idiom. Each word has a denotation common for all as well as a connotation that is unique for each individual. Each will have his own interpretation of "revolution", and to demonstrate such idea provides a clearer understanding of their intention in definition when shown rather than told. (Wardrip-Fruin, 344). For instance, one can "embrace" another in many ways (in a tight, harassing manner or a loose soft manner), however the word has the same definition of clasping another person in the arms. Forum theatre , May 13, 2008.]] While practicing in South America earlier in his career, Boal would apply 'simultaneous dramaturgy'. In this process, the actors or audience members could stop a performance, often a short scene in which a character was being oppressed in some way (for example, a typically chauvinist man mistreating a woman or a factory owner mistreating an employee). In early forms of 'simultaneous dramaturgy', the audience could propose any solution, by calling out suggestions to the actors who would improvise the changes on stage.Augusto, Boal (1993). Theater of the Oppressed p. 132-133. New York: Theatre Communications Group. ISBN 0-930452-49-6. This was an attempt to undo the traditional audience/actor partition and bring audience members into the performance, to have an input into the dramatic action they were watching. Forum theatre was born from 'simultaneous dramaturgy' when, according to Boal this concept of the 'spect-actor' became a dominant force within Boal's later Forum theatre work. The audience were now encouraged to not only imagine change but to actually practise that change, by coming on stage as 'spect-actors' to replace the protagonist and act out an intervention to break the oppression. Through this process, the participant is also able to realize and experience the challenges of achieving the improvements he/she suggested (Wardrip-Fruin, 344). , May 13, 2008.]] Thus, Boal's current manifestation of Forum theatre is as follows: the actors (either professional actors or non professionals drawn from oppressed communities) perform a play with a scripted core, in which an oppression relevant to the audience is played out. After reaching the scripted conclusion, in which the oppressed character(s) fail to overturn their oppression, the actors begin the production again, although often in a condensed form. At any point during this second performance, any spect-actor may call out "stop!" and take the place of the actor portraying the oppressed individual (this actor stays on stage but to the side, giving suggestions to the spect-actor who has replaced him/her). If and when the oppression has been overthrown by the spect-actors, the production changes again: the spect-actors now have the opportunity to replace the oppressors, and find new ways of challenging the oppressed character. In this way a more realistic depiction of the oppression can be made by the audience, who are often victims of the oppression. The whole process is designed to be dialectic, coming to a conclusion through the consideration of opposing arguments, rather than didactic, in which the moral argument is one-sided and pushed from the actors with no chance of reply or counter-argument. Boal clarifies that this practice is not intended to show the correct path, but rather to discover all possible paths which may be further examined. The theatre itself is not revolutionary, instead a rehearsal of revolution. The spectators learn much more from the enactment even if done in a fictional manner, since it stimulates the practice of the art in reality. When encountered in reality with a similar situation they've rehearsed in theatre, forum theatre evokes a desire in people to be proactive since they feel much more prepared and confident in resolving the conflict. The practice of this form creates an uneasy sense of incompleteness that seeks fulfillment through real action. (Wardrip-Fruin, 346) Invisible theatre A form of theatrical performance that is enacted in a place where people would not normally expect to see one, for example in the street or in a shopping centre. The performers attempt to disguise the fact that it is a performance from those who observe and who may choose to participate in it, encouraging the spectators to view it as a real event. The Brazilian theater practitioner Augusto Boal & Panagiotis Assimakopoulos developed the form during his time in Argentina in the 1970s as part of his Theater of the Oppressed, which focused on oppression and social issues. Newspaper theatre A system of techniques devised to give the audience a way to transform daily news articles or any non-dramatic pieces to theatrical scene. The strategies are as follows (Wardrip-Fruin, 346): * Simple Reading: news item read, detached from the context of the newspaper (which makes it false or controversial). * Crossed Reading: two news item are read in alternating form, complementing or contrasting each other in a new dimension. * Complementary Reading: information generally omitted by the ruling class are added to the news. * Rhythmical Reading: article is read to a rhythm (musical), so it acts as a critical "filter" of the news, revealing the true content initially concealed in the newspaper. * Parallel Action: actors mimic the actions as the news is being read. One hears the news and watches its visual complement. * Improvisation: news is improvised on stage to exploit all its variants and possibilities. * Historical: data recurred from historical moments, events in other countries, or in social systems are added to the news. * Reinforcement: article is read accompanied by songs, slides, or publicity materials. * Concretion of the Abstract: abstract content in news is made concrete on stage, i.e. hunger, unemployment, etc. * Text out of Context: news is presented out of context in which it was originally published. Rainbow of Desire Rainbow of Desire is a technique and also a family of techniques explained by Boal in his book of the same name. Rainbow techniques stem from Image theatre and tend to focus on forms of internalized oppression played out by a protagonist in relation to an antagonist. While in his earlier work Boal eschewed the use of Theatre of the Oppressed as "drama therapy", he later began to espouse these more introspective techniques as a form of "theatre and therapy." Legislative theatre When Boal was a Vereador (city councilman) in Rio de Janeiro, he created a new form of theatre called "legislative theatre" to give his voters the opportunity to voice their opinions. The objective is to open up a dialogue between citizens and institutional entities so that there is a flow of power between both groups. Boal calls this type of legislative process a "transitive democracy," which lies in between direct democracy (practiced in ancient Greece) and delegate democracy.http://ospiti.peacelink.it/giolli/giolli_gb/node5.html#SECTION02360000000000000000 It is similar to forum theatre; however, the subject of the production is based on a proposed law to be passed. Spect-actors may take the stage and express their opinions, thereby helping with the creation of new laws. Some 13 laws were created through legislative theatre during Boal's time in government. The technique has since been used overseas in countries including Canada and the United Kingdom. Other techniques Analytical theatre A story is told by one of the participants and immediately the actors improvise it. Afterward each character is broken down into their social roles and the participants are asked to choose a physical object to symbolize each role. For instance for one community the symbol for the head of the family may be a piggy bank, since that individual is the one who controls the finances (power). Having analyzed the characters, a fresh attempt to tell the story is made, however this time removing some of the symbols from each character, and consequently some social roles as well. For example, the story would be perceived differently if the robber had the police uniform and the hostage possessed a revolver. Through this method, the participants will realize that human actions are not the exclusive and primitive result of human psychology: the individual speaks of their class as well. (Wardrip-Fruin, 351) Breaking repression Boal explains that the technique of breaking repression involves asking the participant to remember a particular moment when he or she felt especially repressed, accepted it, and submitted to act in a manner contrary to his or her own desires. It is necessary, he explains, that the choice is a particular incident rather than a general sense of oppression. The participant describes that incident, which is then reconstructed and re-enacted with other participants of his choosing. This performance is repeated, except that this time the repressed is asked to fight to impose his or her will while the others involved are invited to maintain the repression. The conflict that results helps to measure the possibility one has to resist in situations where one fails to do so, as well as to measure the true strength of the enemy. Having rehearsed a resistance to oppression prepares the individual to resist effectively in similar situations that may be encountered in the future.(Wardrip-Fruin,349) Boal states that the process to be realized in doing this type of theater is the one that ascends from the phenomenon toward the law; from the phenomena presented in the plot toward the social laws that govern those phenomena.(Wardrip-Fruin,349) Photo romance Photo romance is a romantic narrative illustrated with sequential photographs in the style of a comic strip, usually published in magazines and such. The technique involves introducing to the participants the general plot without revealing the source of the photo romance. Then, the participants are asked to act out the story, which is then compared to the actual story as described in the source. The differences are discussed thereafter. A particular story interpreted and acted out may be a predictable, pathetic one, however at the same time this result serves as a magnificent example of ideological insight. Boal argues that if they first act out the story themselves then afterwords read the original version, the participants will no longer assume a passive, expectant attitude, but instead a critical, comparative one. They as well be prepared to detect the poison infiltrating the pages of those photo-stories, or the comics and other forms of cultural and ideological domination. This technique is also useful to analyze television programs, a dominant source of poison directed against the people. (Wardrip-Fruin, 349) Rituals and masks This technique attempts to reveal the ideological super-structure of a society in the form of its rituals. "Rituals" in this sense describes the patterns of human relationships and the masks of behaviour that those patterns impose on the participants according to the roles that they play in society. For example: a man goes to a priest to confess his sins; despite the individual identities of the man and priest (i.e. the priest and the parishioner are landlords, the priest is a landlord and the parishioner is a peasant, etc.) the pattern of behavior will remain the same as other examples of this interaction. This will cause different scenarios to play out even though the confession is the same. Boal argues that this is an extraordinarily rich technique that has many variants: for example, the same ritual may be explored by its participants exchanging masks or it may be enacted by people from different social classes. Organizations International Theatre of the Oppressed Organisation Inspired by Augusto Boal, this Organisation links other Theatre of the Oppressed groups to one another. The idea is that others will help groups organize themselves and create new centers for Theatres of the Oppressed. There are links to other organisations involved with this projects so anyone can contact anyone else involved.http://www.theatreoftheoppressed.org/en/index.php?nodeID=1 This online Organisation allows others to share information about the Theatre of the Oppressed. The largest single organisation in the Theatre of the Oppressed network is Jana Sanskriti. Set up by Sanjoy Ganguly in the Sunderbans, a rural area outside Calcutta in the Bay of Bengal, Jana Sanskriti has a membership of over 40,000, 30 theatre teams, and an impressive record of art and activism which has resulted in major improvements in health, infrastructure, welfare benefits, education and social awareness through the region.Sanjoy Ganguly, Forum Theatre and Democracy in India, London, Routledge, 2010 Boal's ideas have been widely accepted and used by theatre groups in Mozambique after the end of the civil war in 1992 to explain the need for reconciliation and to discuss topics such as avoiding landmines, voting in the first democratic elections and the rights of peasants under the new land law. Grupo de Teatro dos Oprimidos - Maputo was founded in 2001 after Alvim Cossa spent six months studying theater methodology in Rio de Janeiro by a grant from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It has presented plays such as O meu marido esta a negar (My Husband is in Denial), documented as a film by Rogério Manjate, which discusses HIV/AIDS avoidance and treatment. This play is presented in public places - markets, schools and businesses - and the public is invited to attend and present their own solutions to the unequal power relations shown in the play. The result is more effective than a lecture in Portuguese or distribution of written material to a largely illiterate population. Centre for Community Dialogue and Change Centre for Community Dialogue and Change (CCDC) is an organisation based in Bengaluru, India which is dedicated to the promotion of Theatre of the Oppressed chiefly in education as well as medical humanities. CCDC has conducted many workshops among diverse population in India as well as abroad. Medical Humanities Group, UCMS Infinite Ability, the disability special-interest-group within the Medical Humanities Group of University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS), Delhi, India organised the first ever Theatre of the Oppressed workshop for medical students. See also *Theatre pedagogy *Drama therapy *Bertolt Brecht *''Lehrstücke'' *Forum theatre *Invisible theatre *Cardboard Citizens *Crowdsourcing *Jennifer S Hartley References * Rodgers, Mandy. 'McBuck' to open tonight. Red and Black 2/21/08 * Wardrip-Fruin, Noah and Nick Montfort, eds. The New Media Reader. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003. ISBN 0-262-23227-8. * Augusto, Boal (1993). Theater of the Oppressed. New York: Theatre Communications Group. ISBN 0-930452-49-6. External links * Glossary of Theatre of the Oppressed terminology * Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Inc. - PTO holds the largest annual Theatre of the Oppressed conference * The Forum Project - Sliding scale Theatre of the Oppressed training and facilitation * International Theatre of the Oppressed Organisation * Cardboard Citizens - The UK's leading practitioners in Theatre of the Oppressed Training * Giolli Cooperativa sociale - Centro di Ricerca e Sperimentazione teatrali sui metodi Boal e Freire - Italy * Parteciparte Rome-Marseille * Preview of Theatre of the Oppressed * Centre for Community Dialogue and Change, India: Breaking Patterns, Creating Change - Conducting Theatre of the Oppressed Workshops and Research especially in Education and Healthcare Kategori:Tiyatro akımları Category:Theatre of the Oppressed Category:Theatrical genres Category:Social movements Category:Pedagogy Category:Arts in Brazil Category:Political theatre